Remember ‘Trio‘? The stunning free video that convinced many that the Element team should be kept a keen eye on. Well, get hyped for some more goodness from Chad Tim Tim, Levi Brown and Darrell Stanton as they are joined by new Element rider Mark Appleyard for ‘Quattro‘.
Watch the new official trailer below and get hyped.
The much talked about Paul Rodriguez solo Plan B part is now available exclusively through iTunes, and early reports are suggesting that it’s one of the parts of the year.
See the trailer below for ‘Paul Rodriguez: Me, Myself and I‘ and if you want to be properly blown away today, then load up iTunes and get it.
We find it’s something of a good omen whenever Bill Strobeck posts a new edit on his Youtube Channel. There’s something about the things captured in these short edits that inspire you to keep a keen eye out for the extraordinary amongst the ordinary during your day. Something that Strobeck, without fail, captures on the regs.
‘Sister’ is the latest, and features some east coast madness from Alex Olson, Dylan Rieder and Austyn Gillete. Enjoy below.
Following on from last week’s London shredding the RVCA crew have hit up the smooth streets of Italy on their Euro ‘Dick Moves’ tour. The video dropped online and features bangers from Nestor Judkins, Cory Kennedy, Leo Romero, Cairo Foster, Spanky and more.
Nestor’s feeble grind is a thing of beauty. See for yourself below…
Islet w/ Gyratory System
Cafe Oto
11.11.10
Walking into Dalston’s Cafe Oto, it becomes quickly clear that there’s something a little different about tonight’s show. I’m not sure if it’s the fact everyone is sitting on chairs like a school assembly, or it could be the bizarre mixture of brass and electronics being created by avant-garde three piece Gyratory System, but something doesn’t fit right. The best policy seems to be to go with it, this is an ATP show after all, and there are few hands more capable of putting on something spectacular.
As Gyratory System finish, leaving me puzzled although undoubtedly entertained, the chairs are removed clearing the way for the mighty Islet to take the stage (or lack of a stage, as it turns out). Anyone lucky enough to have caught Islet already will know what to expect, which to put it quite simply, is perhaps the UK’s most entertaining live band. It’s their use of environment which is most fascinating, using the walls and ceilings as percussion and leaving no space in the room left undiscovered. Speaking of percussion, the band makes use of two, sometimes three drummers using all aspects of the instrument and drawing sounds from areas you’d never expect.
The set is comprised from recent EP releases ‘Wimmy’ and ‘Celebrate This Place’, which are at times fused together such as the hybrid created from tracks ‘Powys’ and ‘Holly’. Highlights come in the form of ‘Horse and Dogs’, said to be a song about police brutality, and ‘Jasmine’ with its successful blend of driving bass sounds and a tribal vocal. It’s nearly impossible to describe the impact of Islet’s performance, and I can only stress that you should catch them for yourselves before they implode in on themselves like all the best bands do.
Big Sleeks
KOKO, London
17/18th October
Below: DJ Switch – Battle For Supremacy Champion
Now in its 26th year, the DMCs has continued to expose the hottest, most talented DJs on the planet. This year the venue is Koko in Camden and the place is packed with critical eyes and party people alike, all looking to be blown away by new sounds.
Split in to two nights, the first night kicks off with the Battle for World Supremacy; and for the third year running the UK’s DJ Switch flexed his super confident swagger to take out DJ Pimp and Solo to make a final with France’s champ, DJ Getback. Needless to say, Switch wasn’t in any frame of mind to hand his crown over to a Frenchman; and after Getback showed a lot of flare, Switch is just born to battle and the judges swayed in his favour for his 3rd title.
The live PAs on the night came from Reeps-One and Eklips, two beatboxers battling each other in the same style the DJs had moments before, and the pair of them really stepped up a level and maxed out for the crowd managing to throw out some dubstep sub-bass to keep the place shaking. The other PA was the outgoing world champ, New Yorks DJ Shiftee. I would have preferred to see him competing, but at any level he hasn’t a thing to prove. Regardless he gave a timely reminder of what’s expected from a champion and killed a 20minute set of eclectic hip-hop and breaks. Brazil’s Yarah Bravo, accompanied by Vadim threw down a sassy set with purple hair and insane dress to boot, this pushes the venue in to party mode.
On to the team finals, and this is a hotly contested affair, with the UK, France, USA and Japan all having worthy winners in the last few years. The UK’s Bionic Stylus Crew put a few live tracks together, but didn’t really hit the levels of France’s Trauma Team who probably hit their peak in this competition with a well versed 4 man scratch setup. But it was Kireek from Japan that made the crowd make the most noise, combining technical excellence without boring the crowd. They managed to make the place jump with their slightly less regimented two-man routine which had the air of a freestyled set, mixed with a solid plan and most importantly they had fun doing so. The judges couldn’t fail to award them their 4th title, well deserved too.
Below: DJ Ligone – World Champion
The second night is the main event, the battle for the crown of World’s best DJ. We were treated to a comedy AV set from DJ Woody, as well as one from Shiftee and the inventor of the scratch, Grand Wizard Theodore stepped up to show the crowds where it all started, albeit with a blindfold on for some of his mix! The finals attract more and more each year, riding high in the crowds expectations are the UK’s Jeppa and Japan’s DJ Co-Ma, but the crowd gets right behind Japan’s DJ Blu who drops the most exciting set and has everyone bouncing with a reworking of a Dre beat. When the results come in it’s Frances’s Ligone that takes the title with a very intricate set, standard for French DJs these last few years. Co-Ma got 2nd, but didn’t reach the level of his previous years set, with Blu edged out to third. The crowd were a little shocked that Blu didn’t take this.
The DMCs announced that next year people will be able to use digital programs in their mix, so perhaps the emphasis will go away from tricks to a more varied musical sound. Already the beats have evolved from hiphop, to breaks, to dubstep, so this can only be seen as a positive progression. One thing is for sure, London still loves a superstar DJ, and there are plenty of DJs eager to step up to the plate for next year’s competition – let the qualifiers begin!
Phil Proctor
From left to right: DJ Jeppa, DJ Blu, DJ Co-Ma, DJ Ligone
Always ready to jump on the latest trend and make a complete mockery of it, Krooked have taken the holiday blockbuster release into their own creative hands with KROOK3D, also known as TH3 Y3AR’S MOST 3XCITING SKAT3 VID3O COMING OUT YOUR SCR33N IN 3Y3-POPPING 3D!!! Coming from any other company, this kind of effort would result in an awkward compilation of suck; but with Krooked you are guaranteed something that for me, is essentially canonical in skateboarding: being forward thinking in the dumbest way imaginable. So what better way to interpret the growing 3D novelty in film by using the technology (in a way that really, really works) and just piss around with your friends. Enter Mark Gonzales, Dan Drehobl, Bobby Worrest, Luke Croker, Brad Cromer, Mike Anderson and David Clark, the members of one of the most fun skate companies around, to provide you with a video that would be the one of the year’s must-see flicks whatever dimension you choose to watch it in.
The video begins with a dedication to the sorely missed Van Wastell, who sadly passed away in 2008. His absence from the group’s antics that follow is missed but the crew do a brilliant job in letting Van Wastell live on in our memory and in the good times that Mark and co. continue to bring us. Rest in peace, brother. Your legacy won’t ever be forgotten.
Rather than follow a section-by-section routine, Krooked have chosen (wisely) to seperate the footage into locations, beginning with New York and moving on to San Francisco and so on. I often feel that more companies should consider this as a possible option and not to dismiss it as too outside of the norm. If you have a team that work so well together like these guys, then it unsurprisingly works to the video’s advantage by depicting Krooked as Krooked, not as a series of individuals. Not to take anything away from the individuals themselves (come on, people like the Gonz, Drehobl, Worrest and co. have a distinct and uniquely awesome taste seperate from one another) but the cocktail is something most pleasant for your eyes to sip on. More so that instead of a showcase we’re presented with something that’s closer to the late 80s/early 90s ‘session’ style of video editing than anything else outside of Etnies’ Skate and Create edit has brought viewers this year. We encourage this. Now, are those glasses sitting comfortably and looking ridiculous on your face? Good, then let’s hit up New York.
To this day, there is nothing like watching The Gonz skate New York. He’s the undisputed king of all things skateboarding in the East Coast and no one will ever interpret something as simple as getting from A-B in a way as imaginative as him. For A-B to Mark is more a case of going from A, then to Y, then to 4, then to Yellow, then to Z before finally arriving at B. In this uncouth journey we see everyone tear up whatever they see before them in a way that combines the free-flowing jazz spirit of 90s Stereo flicks and the gloriously juvenile tomfoolery of the Tilt Mode Army. Hammers aren’t planned, but come out of the natural talent that sporadically bursts from the team’s feet, like Bobby’s backside noseblunt at City Hall that’s so perfectly imperfect. Don’t think that the ‘3’ motif stops at what dimension we’re in either, as Gonz explains during a particularly rad downhill spot, “three sets of stairs, three stairs in each set, three skaters, take it down! in 3-D!”. He then sucks on a monster cigar. I challenge you not to love him even more than you already do.
San Francisco is the next stop and opens with Dan Drehobl’s trademark mayday variations set to a backdrop of the Golden Gate bridge. Visually, it carries something potentially beautiful that countless budding photographers constantly fail to achieve. Of course, Gonz has covered this landscape HDR fiend’s wet-dream with crudely drawn stars and a scrawled ‘San Francisco’ title that makes it the skateboarding equivilent of drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. Words cannot begin to explain how much I’m all over this shit. This section is totally rammed with car-dodging, pram-dodging, big grinds, dorky combos, quotes from strangers, flips over questionable ‘bums’ and Drehobl hitting up the China Town Banks like only he can.
We head back east to Washington D.C. for more fruity jazz scores and lines that make you feel grrrrrrreat. Unsurprisingly Bobby Worrest totally owns this section but there’s some serious bits and pieces from Manderson and David Clark in the mix too. A brief transition segment follows that features welcome cameos from Lance Mountain, Jake Brown and more. As expected, vert looks pretty spectacular in the third dimension so suck on that James Cameron.
After some dicking around in skateparks we’re returing to the west coast to Los Ang3l3s. Here, there are more perfectly captured sessions that are making it progressively more difficult to sit through the entire thing without pausing and running out for a quick skate on whatever is directly outside the front door. But amongst this we see some Crailtap heads getting in on the action, notably Eric Koston doubling up with Gonz as seen on the cover of the latest Wallride Catalogue. The footage from these sessions is as awesome as you’d expect. Koston’s line (featuring the rarely seen regular hardflip) at the end is something magical. Although, not quite as magical as Bobby’s noseblunt on a LOG during the slow-motion section that concludes the film. Yeah, a log. What is this I don’t even…
Props must go to Erik Bragg and all those that made this production possible. Nothing else this year will inspire you to go out and have a proper session with friends, dick around, occasionally do something epic, but in a way that only enhances the session rather than overshadow it. This is how skateboarding should always be. Make sure you get this.
Stanley
The DVD also features twenty minutes of eye-popping mind blowing tantalising 2D action! It’s out now in all good skater-owned shops.
We’ve reached the end of another crazy two weeks in music. Have a look below for the ten hand-picked and absolutely free musical treats that caught our eyes and ears in our inboxes and on the web this month.
Mogwai are due to release another fantastically titled album next year, they’re offering to make the wait a little easier with the take on Yuck’s latest single Rubber. Elliott Smith was recently introduced to some and re-introduced to countless more, but see below for a cut that didn’t make the latest compilation but, as with many Elliott Smith songs, simply must be heard. Dels‘ emotive hip-hop is enhanced by warm production courtesy of Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, and similarly, Keep Shelly In Athens‘ Running Out Of You gets given a huge injection of melancholy via one of Memory Tapes‘ infamous full re-imaginations.
Writers of some of the best music on Habitat’s Mosaic, The Greenhornes have offered up a new track, Song 13 for listeners to grab. There is another select choice from Simian Mobile Disco’s Delicacies range, some smoke-smothered rhymes from Wiz Khalifa, freshness from Cold War Kids and a new remix of Flying Lotus to wrap your head around. Crossfader subjects C.R.S.T. have also posted a bubbler in the form of a remix of the BBC’s United Nations Theme. Huge!
Tuck in below.
Yuck – Rubber (Mogwai Remix) by Crossfire Music
Elliott Smith – Thirteen by Crossfire Music
Dels – Trumpalump (Joe Goddard Remix) by Crossfire Music
Keep Shelly In Athens – Running Out Of You (Memory Tapes Remix) by Crossfire Music
The Greenhornes – Song 13 by Crossfire Music
Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y – Huey Newton by Crossfire Music
Cold War Kids – Louder Than Ever by Hypetrak
BBC Radio 1 United Nations Theme – C.R.S.T by C.R.S.T
Flying Lotus – PieFace (My Dry Wet Mess Remix) by Hypetrak
After years of absolutely merking the UK skate scene, Joshua ‘Manhead’ Young is now officially pro for Unabomber Skateboards.
In celebration, Unabomber gave Josh and their other pro riders, Ben Grove and Craig Smedley, complete freedom on their latest graphics. Josh repped his hometown and went for a Tingely themed deck, Ben Grove collaborated with Manchester’s own Suzuki Method and Smedley stopped breakdancing for a second to work with Nottingham artist Brad Garner for his ‘Don’t Meddle’ model.
Have a look below to see what they look like and keep your eye out for them dropping all good shops soon. Congrats Manhead!
This week’s Sunday Stooges edit from Dainton is quite a special one. Coming in at five minutes Daint keeps us all up to date on all the haps and then throws in a banger (hohoho) of a Bonfire Night edit down in Newport.
Contains a monsterous ten tricks from GRIM and some mini-ramp shredding from Dainton himself. Get stuck in below for Welsh thrills.